GOOGLE UPDATES: Google Acquires LabPixies to Expand Gaming Offering

Google might be looking to compete even further with Facebook and Android with its latest acquisition of LabPixies, a game developer based in Isreal. LabPixies, in the past has made work on both the iPhone with Flood-It as well as Trio, but also has released the games on iGoogle.

As said by InsideSocialGames, LabPixies’ strength comes from their willingness to make their games work on many dissimilar platforms including My Yahoo. Talk about a multiplatform developer, apparently LabPixies takes the cake in that regard.

According to Google’s Code Blog the LabPixies will “anchor our iGoogle efforts across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.” I would be willing to bet that LabPixies sees a bit of Android in their future too.

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Google Updates: Google Image Search Updates for Easier Phone-Based Browsing

If you are sporting an iPhone or Android phone, Google Image Search has updated to offer you with a more streamlined browsing experience—no app download or installation is needed.

The old interface wasn't terrible, but it was more like using a simplified and squished down version of the regular browser version of Google Images. The latest update optimizes thumbnails—as an alternative of irregular rectangles each thumbnail is a center-cropped square for maximum thumbnails for each page—enlarges images on a distraction free black background with auto-fading buttons, also supports a finger-friendlier interface that emphasizes touch and swipe vs. the tap-based interface of the old Google Images Search.

Watch the video below to see it in action or visit Google Images on your iPhone or Android phone to test it out.



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Google: Adobe Flash Support Coming to Android 2.2.

Google’s Andy Rubin, vice president of engineering has announced that the next version of Google Android will have support for Adobe Flash. The support will be added in Android 2.2 (Froyo), and Adobe Flash will be built into Android 2.2.

Google obviously still sees Adobe’s Flash technology as a significant part of their mobile operating system, unlike Apple who have done everything possible to ensure Flash never gets on their iPhone OS.

Adobe Flash support for Google’s Android OS will be welcomed by many of the Android users out there, and might be something that attracts new customers to their Android OS.

Adobe is going to release the new version of their Flash player, 10.1 by the end of June, the latest version will support both computers, and mobile phones that support the technology.

This is a smart move by Google to include Adobe Flash in their Android OS, Apple have come under quite a bit of criticism for not allowing Flash onto the iPhone, and this might possibly lure some iPhone owners to Android smartphones.

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Google Launches Online Video Rental Service For YouTube

YouTube ,Google's popular online video streaming service, has launched its very own online video rental service.

The scheme, which was released on a 10-day trial basis earlier this year, allows users to rent Hollywood movies as well as episodes of popular TV programmes for periods ranging from 24 to 72 hours.

Videos cost from 99 cents up to $3.99. Right now, the service is only available to US users and Google has not said whether the service will be available in the UK.

A YouTube spokesperson told blog site newteevee.com: “When we announced YouTube Rentals in January, we said we would be creating a destination after more partners joined the program.”

To date... nearly 500 partners have joined our Rental program.” He added.

Earlier this year, the New York Times reported the scheme made $10,709 in its 10-day trial by renting out movies as of the Sundance film festival.

Armed with a wider roster of film titles also an improved business model, industry pundits believe the service will do wonders for both Google also the US TV and film industry.

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Google finally gets full GPS to Android consumers in UK

Google has lastly unconfined their gratis roll-by-roll GPS software’s such as Google map, for the Android addicts in the UK, a complete 6 months once it was initiated in the US. The Google navigation map will work with any Android phone in succession with the firmware 1.6 or higher.

Google mobile maps boss Steve Lee says, the big holdup between the US and UK discharges must do through “a figure of concerns which came up in growth.” One of the scientific issues incorporated the glut of roadbeds in the road arrangements.

In addition, Steve Lee utters that the Navigation will clearly produce you the entire route you have needed, the users will not be distraught by data bond drops.

And also the Google reminds us to perceive whether the voice command feature is on for the Navigation to work properly, says the company.

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Google to launch Android 2.2 Froyo on 19th May?

Google’s Android mobile operating system has managed to get the attention of users, as many people have started showing curiosity in Android based phones. Mobile manufacturing companies are also launching their phones with Android 2.1 OS, which is quite fast also easy to use.

However, Android 2.1 lacks in many significant features as compared to other mobile OS. Recently, a few sources have tipped that Google is planning to launch Android 2.2 “froyo” in the market.

According to AndroidandMe.com, Google might release Android 2.2 OS in upcoming Google I/O 2010 and the Google’s largest developer event is scheduled at Moscone Center, San Francisco on May 19th.

AndroidandMe.com guys have shared their Google Analytics stats, which obviously indicate that Android 2.2 is definitely coming soon.

Although this update sounds exciting, no one has an idea regarding the features of Android 2.2. A few sources suggest that this froyo firmware update will bring facilities like FM radio, Flash 10.1 and JIT compiler.

Old Android devices have been receiving Android 2.1 update, but it is not confirmed whether they’ll get Android 2.2 or not. Let’s keep the fingers crossed and wish that Android 2.2 will run on old phones.

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Updates: Google drops the http:// from Chrome

SOFTWARE DEVELOPER Google has made a modification in the developer version of its browser Chrome, which seems to have ruffled a few feathers, by getting purge of the "http://" from the commencement of web addresses, putting in its place a pretty blue Earth icon.

If you are wondering about whether you will still see "ftp://" and "https://", not to worry, these will be shown. But quite a few people have protested regarding this change, one of the arguments being that when people want to copy the text of the URL, they want the "http://" to go along with it, so they can embed, tweet it otherwise do something else.

Google has tried to address this so that copying all the text will give the "http://" prefix, but unfortunately there are some problems with this. One of these is a bug where a partial copy of the URL will mean you’ll have to reinsert the "http://". There are also other documented issues, like breaking middle-click paste functionality in Linux.

It’s comprehensible why Google is working on making this change. The "http://" bit of a web address doesn't actually mean very much, with even the father of the World Wide Web (WWW) Tim Berners-Lee admitting that the "//" was really a pointless and unnecessary addition.

And Safari has previously done this with its mobile browser, likely for the reason that it saves space. But, judging from the uproar from users, Google hasn't totally thought through what this change may mean for some web users.

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Updates: Google opens alphabetti spaghetti with refined spelling in search

Google has tweaked its search engine to accelerate queries for users who are prone to spelling mishaps.

Mountain View said on Friday that it had made 3 enhancements to help web surfers input their searches more rapidly and easily.

It has plumped up the automatic correction of misspelled search words to comprise 31 languages and improved spell correction for names and the company has also refined Google Suggest by adding a feature that searches for terms based on where somebody using the search engine is located.

The ad broker launched Google Suggest last year, but at that time it only grouped searches together according to which country they originated from and the tweak enables a much more detailed search within a specific geographical area.

"Just as people in the UK often look for different things than people in US, we have found that people in Seattle tend to look for different things than people in Dallas," Pandu Nayak, the firm's search wonk said in a blog post. "So last week, we rolled out a version of Google Suggest that is tailored to specific metro areas in the US." He added.

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Gmail Now Gets Drag and Drop Attachments Feature

A good news for all us. Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox users that love using Gmail, the webmail product from Google. Courtesy of a small update, the Gmail users on these 2 browsers will not have to waste any time browsing their files when they intend to attach a document. The easier (new) option instead will be to just drag and drop a file on to the attachments column and the document will be automatically attached.

This is not an outright great feature updation but, the people who make use of Gmail daily and attach their files every day will surely have, a different answer ready for you.

While the feature functions very smoothly, what is more is that you can attach multiple files at the same time. One more addition, courtesy of this minor update, is the new option to insert an invitation to an event with your mail.

The second feature is more valuable if you’ve the permission to access and view one more person’s Google Calendar and you can then accordingly invite the person when he is not committed to any other appointment. Google is now working hard to get these features running on all browsers as soon as possible.

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Google Docs Gets One More Update

Google just announced one more set of improvements for Google Docs aimed to make the service faster and more accessible for users. Integrated in the changes are new document features similar to better numbering and bullets, auto-complete, and drag-and-drop columns in spreadsheets. They have also improved document importing, helping to preserve the original structure of documents after they are uploaded to Google Docs. And amid all of these changes (and those introduced last week), it's even faster!

Plus, there is good news for collaborators: up to 50 people can work on one document at a time. Changes and edits will be shown in real time, designating who is making the changes. Also you will still be able to chat with everyone who is viewing the document at any given time — helpful whether you are working with someone sitting next to you at the office, or working with someone across the country. Also included in the update are a new Drawings editor allowing for easier collaboration on flow charts, designs, and diagrams. The changes are likely to roll out over the next week or so.

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Google To Rank Websites On Speed

It is a case of the hare winning against the tortoise as far as Google's concerned.

The search giant has announced plans to rank a website depending on how fast it takes to load.

The announcement, which is a fast first for Google, which doesn't generally share the way it works out search algorithms, is said to be put in place to stop us getting frustrated at the amount of time we are left twiddling our thumbs waiting for a website to load.

“Speeding up websites is important - not just to site owners, but to all internet users. Faster sites create happy users and we have seen in our internal studies that when a site responds slowly, visitors spend less time there." Amit Singhal and Matt Cutts of Google, said in a Google Webmaster Central blog.

Though, Google isn't being too hasty in its changes, emphasizing that site speed wasn't the only consideration when it came to rankings.

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Google improves viewing as well as labelling in Gmail

Google has added 2 features to its Gmail client, making it easier and quicker for users to label and view messages.

Sneak Peak and Nested Labels must be turned on through the settings pages on Gmail, and are the result of requests from users, the firm added.

Nested Labels will make it easier to create a complex array of message types inside folders, as said by Google software engineer Manu Cornet.

"You can create complex hierarchies of labels if that is the way you like to organize your mail, and you can expand/collapse labels to save space," Manu Cornet said in a blog post.

"You’ll always be capable to tell whether a given label contains unread messages in its collapsed child labels by looking at whether it is bold or not."

Sneak Peak, in the meantime, allows users to preview messages without opening them by right clicking on a message to open a preview window of its content.

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Google Updates :Google Maps Blackberry app major update unveiled

The Google Maps Blackberry app has had a ginormous update adding up support for Google Buzz, voice search and desktop synching. The Google Maps Blackberry app update lastly puts it on a alike footing to Google Maps on iPhone and Android.

The Google Maps for Blackberry app at present incorporates voice search so that you can speak the address you are looking for.

Google Buzz slipped into mobile Gmail on iPhone and Android yesterday, gets in on the act with the ability to post messages and see close by Buzz from within the Google Maps Blackberry app.

Google Labs has also opened up its doors toward the Google Maps Blackberry App which means you can add experimental features like scale adjustment.

If you have enabled Web History on your Google account, the Google Maps Blackberry app will offer suggestions from your previous searches when you type in queries. It will also now sync locations you star among your phone and computer.

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Google Updates: Mobile Gmail gets Google Buzz integration

For those of you who might be unaware, Buzz is Google's new foray into the burgeoning social networking arena with the likes of Facebook and Twitter. The full-featured version of service now lives in Gmail, but to the disappointment of Buzz fans and indifference of many critics this had not been translated to mobile devices. Fine, that just changed... a little bit, at least.

Starting today, Gmail users will be greeted with a more and more feature-rich client on their mobile devices using the service's standard web interface. A few of the biggest changes are the ability to comment on and reply to posts directly from the Gmail inbox and 'liking' posts. You can also still utilize the stand-alone web based client at buzz.google.com, though there is no word on any official native apps.

While the iPhone as well as Android platforms are definitely supported, it is also rumored other platforms might work. Any Blackberry, Palm Pre or Windows Mobile users out there care to confirm? Visit Gmail on your mobile device and let us know.

Google Updates: Google to Update Buzz Privacy

When Google first stepped into the social networking monarchy, the company sought to harness a few of the information it had available to make a user’s transition significantly quicker. But, in doing so, many users complained about the lack of privacy, and in response, Google is now releasing privacy updates to “Buzz.”

Starting today, April 5, Google will request that all users confirm or change their privacy settings.

Todd Jackson, Buzz product manager told in a blog spot that “Shortly after launching Google Buzz, we quickly realized we didn’t get everything right and moved as fast as possible to improve the Buzz experience”.

“Offering everyone who uses our products transparency and control is very important to us.” He added.

In March, several members of Congress wrote a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) asking that it investigate the privacy implications the service.

“We‘re writing to express our concern over claims that Google Buzz… breaches online consumer privacy and trust,” they wrote.

The Google team has also said that other updates will be imminent in the future.

Yahoo Updates: Yahoo shows off new search functions

Yahoo has recently added new features to a pair of its search services.

The company said that it would be placing the new components in both the news and sports search sections of its website.

The new features will include new filters as well as suggested search topics. The features are designed to help users better target their searches through specially targeted vertical search techniques.

Users of the special sports search service will be capable to search not only specific terms, but also refine the terms as to only search for image files or video clips. In addition, the sports search will automatically suggest related searches to the user query, like specific players or news about rival clubs.

For the news search, users will be capable to target their searches by specifying assured news sources to be searched and limiting results to a specific time frame.

Yahoo said that the new search tools would be released in a limited international rollout. Among the 12 countries participating will be the United States, UK, India, Australia, Korea and Hong Kong.

The new features come as Yahoo is working to repel the growing threat of Microsoft's Bing search engine. Bing has steadily been gaining market share from Yahoo as its release last summer.

Google Chrome browser Updated with built-in Flash support

Search engine giant Google has announced an update to its Chrome web browser, saying it has worked with software companies like Adobe and Mozilla to introduce an integrated Flash player.

It comes as tech giant Apple, which is apparently in a war of words against Google at the moment, has defended the lack of Flash support in its ascendant iPad gadget.

In a new blog post, developers of Google Chrome software have said they have worked with other developers to "assist define the next generation browser plug-in API".

Generally users have to download the Flash plug-in separately and install it in order to view graphics as well as videos powered by Flash on the internet. The benefits of an integrated system will see Chrome and update the software automatically.

Google developers said they trust this approach will help make the plug-ins "fast, stable and secure".